Daniels sparks rally, but comeback falls short

B.J. Daniels scrambles for a run during the Seattle Dragons Week 4 matchup against the St. Louis BattleHawks.

ST. LOUIS – BJ Daniels was one of the first players to run out onto the field before the start of the second half.

After picking up a ball, he turned, gave a nod – an acknowledgment he was going in the game – and jogged over to continue his warmup.

In the second half of the Dragons’ fourth game, the quarterback was given an opportunity.

He made the most of it. He created opportunities with his legs and found open receivers after buying time, helping to spark a second-half rally that fell just short as Seattle fell to the BattleHawks, 23-16, on Saturday.

"I just tried to make the most of an opportunity that was given. I feel like I’ve earned it. I’ve worked hard. I just really wanted to help the team in any way I could, leave it all out on the line and, even though we were down, I had the thought in my head, the belief that we could still win."

B.J. Daniels

Daniels entered the game with the Dragons trailing 17-3 and quickly led a scoring drive capped by 1-yard touchdown run by Kenneth Farrow.

“In the second half we created some juice, some energy on both sides of the ball,” Daniels said. “We were fighting an up-hill battle, but I could definitely see the growth and fight in this team, especially being on the road against a good team.”

In his first significant action of the season, Daniels completed 5-of-10 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown pass to tight end Evan Rodriguez. Daniels also led the team in rushing with 84 yards on seven carries.

He gave our team a spark and just kept it going. It wasn’t just one drive.

Coach Jim Zorn

For Daniels, it was an opportunity to play. For the Dragons, it was a chance to keep fighting through a season that isn’t playing out as planned.

After the game, the message from Zorn was simple: “I tip my hat to you guys, you fought all along … You’ve got passion. You played with passion and you cared about it.”

Seattle (1-3) continues its season in Houston next Saturday. The Dragons head into a new week with a simple goal: Just keep moving forward.

“We’ve got a division game this week, so we’ve just got to get back to practice, just make sure we handle our division, first and foremost,” Daniels said. “Then we can move forward and let the chips fall where they may.

“We’re all fighters. A lot of us have chips on our shoulders, have always had chips on our shoulders and we’re just trying to do what we can to continue to prove ourselves and just put ourselves in a position to be successful.”

Note: In the second quarter, defensive back Mohammed Seisay suffered a neck injury and was taken to a local hospital for precautionary measures and further evaluation. He will stay in St. Louis for the night before traveling back to Seattle.

Maura Dooley, the Dragons Insider and sideline reporter for 710 ESPN Seattle, contributed to this report.